Vaddi said Washington reached out to Russia in September proposing a meeting to discuss the New START treaty and managing nuclear risks, as well as any additional issues in that domain.
"The Russian Federation refused to talk to us. We're still open to that discussion, but we would welcome a follow-up from the Russian Federation if they would be willing to talk about this now," Vaddi said.
Earlier in the day, Vaddi stated the US is prepared to hold a discussion with Russia on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) before it expires on February 6, 2026, and hopes Russia is ready to engage.
In February 2023, President Vladimir Putin announced Russia would suspend its participation in the New START treaty, although it would not withdraw from it. He emphasized that Russia needed clarity on how the treaty would account for the arsenals of the United States and other NATO nuclear powers, namely the UK and France, before considering a return to discussions on the treaty's continuation.
The United States, in response, ceased sharing information with Moscow about the status and location of its strategic weapons covered under the treaty, revoked Russian inspectors' visas, and stopped providing telemetry data on launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reaffirmed that Moscow’s stance remains unchanged: discussions on security and stability must be comprehensive and centered on issues that directly affect Russian interests. The ministry criticized the US for wanting to conduct dialogue only on its own terms and on issues of its own concern.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov insisted that any dialogue on strategic stability must be genuine, contrasting with the approach historically taken by the US. He argued that restoring trust is unrealistic as long as Russia is openly declared a hostile state and a threat that needs to be eliminated.